Craft Beer Comes to Maine State Pier - MOFGA Business Members will be there!Saturday, July 13, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., at the Maine State Pier in Portland
Ticket includes beverages, delicious food and a commemorative tasting glass. Currently 24 breweries are participating, with more than 85 beer selections. (A VIP session, which begins at noon, comes with a more expensive ticket and allows folks to mingle with brewers and to sample special brews available only then.) Details at http://mainebrewersguild.org/

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Last week's orchard workshop with Dave Buchanan and C.J. Walke went very well. Dave has an impressive orchard in Pownal, with 500 trees, and his garage is being rebuilt to be a commercial cider processing kitchen. Buchanan has joined MOFGA's Heritage Orchard committee, which is planning an orchard of heritage apple varieties on MOFGA's land in Unity. The next orchard workshop, on bud grafting, takes place on July 27 in Thorndike. Details.

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GMO Labeling Update

The Maine House of Representatives and Senate have enacted LD 718 - An Act To Protect Maine Food Consumers' Right To Know about Genetically Engineered Food. While we are getting closer to our campaign goal, this bill is not yet law in Maine. Senator Andre Cushing (R - Hampden) has placed a hold on the bill until the Legislature comes back to session on Tuesday, July 9th. There is some uncertainty about when this legislative session will wrap up, and when LD 718 will make its way to the Governor's desk for signing. Still, there is unanimous support in both chambers of the Legislature and we are hopeful that Governor LePage will sign the bill. We will keep everyone posted. Stay tuned.

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Jeff Wolovitz and daughters at the Camden Farmers' Market.

Know Your Organic Producers!

Meet the makers of Heiwa Tofu. Jeff Wolovitz, who, with his wife Maho Hisakawa, owns Heiwa ("hey-wa") Tofu (www.heiwatofu.com). Jeff and Maho live in Lincolnville with their two daughters. They make organic tofu, soy milk and okara (the fiber left after squeezing out the soy milk) from Maine-grown, MOFGA certified organic soybeans. Their products are available at the Camden Farmers' Markets, Colby College, restaurants and natural food stores in Maine and New Hampshire, through their CSA and through Crown of Maine.

Here's a savory dip that Jeff prepared for sampling at the Camden Farmers' Market recently:

Here at MOFGA, we depend on all our volunteers to make each Fair a success. It's easy to register for a volunteer shift using our online system. To register or retrieve your password please visit: http://www.VolunteerMatters.com/login/mofga. Or, if you'd like to learn more about volunteering at the Fair, just visit our webpage on MOFGA.org for more information. Please contact Anna Libby, MOFGA's Volunteer Coordinator, at alibby@mofga.org with any questions you may have. We'll see you at the Fair!

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Tracy Moskovitz and Bambi Jones of Hidden Valley Nature Center - and the Common Ground Country Fair. Hidden Valley is the site for the next Farm Training Project workshop, on July 11 at 5 p.m.

For more information about or directions to any of the workshops, email Abby or call 568-4142. To join the email list click here.

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Beginning Farmer Resource Network
The Beginning Farmer Resource Network is a coalition - including MOFGA - of Maine agriculture agencies and organizations working together to connect aspiring, beginning, and transitioning farmers to resources for farm business success. Website.

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Shana Hanson, shown here at the 2012 Farm & Homestead Day at MOFGA, will host a daytripping event at her farm in Belfast this week.

Visit Three Streams Farm in BelfastJuly 10, 6 a.m. - Daytripping event, Three Streams Farm, Belfast. Shana Hanson's tour will include woodland herbs and fodder trees for place-based milk, honeycomb grazing rotation using stainless wire (the paddocks are hexagonal), near-ripe winter wheat and dry peas, weeds as vegetables, wild mushroom identification and a breakfast fruit harvest. The farm is on the Back Belmont Rd. in Belfast, halfway between Jesse Robbins Rd. and the big power line. Look for a rusty mailbox with a hand-painted, cabin-shaped, peaked-roof counseling sign mounted on it, on the north side of the road. Follow the gravel drive. Call Shana at 338-8980 if you are coming.

Jon Walsh joined MOFGA in June as its Fair assistant. Jon was raised in Winslow, Maine, and grew up attending the Common Ground Fair, annually trading parking lot volunteer service for free admission. While attending Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, he worked at a variety of jobs, ranging from field archaeologist to instrument librarian, and spent time studying music in Cairo, Egypt, before graduating in 2012 with a focus on music and mystical philosophy. After a stint at a small nonprofit bluegrass record label in Caryville, Tennessee, and time as a street musician in Asheville, North Carolina, Jon returned to Maine to pursue his other passion - promoting the interests of rural communities and local food systems. In addition to working with MOFGA, Jon is attempting to grow organic vegetables on a small plot in South Paris.

And Prepares to Say Goodbye to Emily Horton

After working at MOFGA for three years, first as administrative assistant and then as our educational events coordinator, Emily will be leaving MOFGA to take a full-time job with Healthy Maine Partnerships. We wish Emily the best of luck and thank her for all she did for MOFGA!

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MOFGA Job Opening: Events Coordinator

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association has an immediate opening for a half-time Events Coordinator.

The Events Coordinator will work with Educational Programs, Agricultural Services, and other MOFGA staff and volunteers as appropriate to manage logistics for MOFGA's educational meetings, programs, and events. This position is currently funded for 20 hours per week on average. Intensity of schedule will vary and will be dictated by seasonal demands of MOFGA's events calendar, with significant pulses in the fall and spring of the year. Some availability on nights and weekends is required.

To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, brief writing sample, and list of three professional references in portable document format (pdf) via email to Andrew Marshall: amarshall@mofga.org. Review of applications will begin July 22, and we expect to fill the position by August 1.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is amending the state's Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) Quarantine. This proposed rule modifies the existing HWA quarantine by adding to the area under quarantine 81 towns in Maine and additional counties in other states that have been found to be infested with this pest. It also removes logs from the list of regulated articles and simplifies some reporting requirements imposed on State Plant Regulatory Officials in states that are free of this pest.

A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 31, 2013, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Maine Department of ACF, 319 Deering Building, 90 Blossom Lane, Augusta. The deadline for written comments is August 10, 2013.

Click here to access a copy of the proposed rule. If you would like a paper copy of the rule, wish to send written comments or have questions regarding this proposal please contact Ann Gibbs, Maine Department of ACF, 28 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333; Phone: 207-287-7602; Fax: 207-287-7548;ann.gibbs@maine.gov; www.maine.gov/agriculture/horticulture

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Maine Sales Tax Rate Changes

Sales tax rate increases passed by the Maine Legislature take effect on October 1, 2013.

Also, a new refund/exemption provision affecting businesses engaged in commercial wood harvesting, commercial nurseries and commercial greenhouses as well as retailers selling to these businesses took effect July 1, 2013, for qualifying purchases on or after that date. Persons engaged in these types of businesses must apply to Maine Revenue Services for an exemption certificate. Retailers making tax-exempt sales to those engaged in these commercial activities must obtain a copy of the purchasers' exemption certificate and an exemption affidavit. Get the forms here. The sales invoice must be clearly marked as tax exempt.

Nurseries and greenhouses should refer to instructional Bulletin 45 "Commercial Agriculture," and wood harvesters should refer to Instructional Bulletin 58 "Commercial Wood Harvesting" for additional information. See the bulletins.

July 12 - Deadline to apply for National Water Quality Initiative funding. Through the National Water Quality Initiative, the Natural Resources Conservation Service will work with farmers and ranchers in 165 small watersheds to implement conservation systems to reduce nitrogen, phosphorous, sediment and pathogen contributions from agricultural land. Details.

July 13 - The next organized hike of the Waldo County Trails Coalition will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, starting at the trail entrance in MOFGA's field on Crosby Brook Road in Unity, next to Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm, and ending on Quaker Hill Road. A shuttle will be available at Quaker Hill Road to transport people back to MOFGA at the end of the hike. We'll likely wade across a shallow, narrow part of Sandy Stream near the beginning of the hike. Sebasticook Regional Land Trust has a paddle that day from 9 to 11 a.m., so whether you're up for a biathlon or just a pleasant hike, please join us!

July 18 to 21 - Timber Framing Workshop for High School Students. Thurs. to Sunday, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson. 4-day workshop starts with standing trees, model and a drawing; finishes with a completed cabin. Competitive application process, required recommendation from a teacher or guidance counselor. Applications due by June 16 (decisions made by June 28). $50, includes all materials. No previous experience necessary. Applications and Letter of Recommendation at hvnc.org, or contact Andy at andy@hvnc.org or 200-8840. The workshop is co-sponsored by Oak Grove School Foundation, MOFGA, Hancock Lumber, and Wood-Mizer.

July 21 - Sagadahoc MOFGA: Open Farm Day tour in group(s)Visit two or three farms in close proximity. Coordinated by George Sergeant. For information, contact Sally Fesler: fesler11@gmail.com.

July 23 - Pasture Management: Weed Control and Old Field Restoration. Tues., 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Knox-Lincoln Extension, 377 Manktown Rd, Waldoboro. Presenter: Rick Kersbergen, Waldo County Extension Educator. Is your pasture or hayfield overrun with buttercup and/or smooth bedstraw? Do you have old fields that you would like to bring back? Chemical and non-chemical methods will be discussed. Program is free, but register at 596-2040 or contact Hildy Ellis, hildy@knox-lincoln.org.

July 27 - 5th Artisan Bread Fair. Sat., 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Skowhegan State Fairgrounds. Free. Celebration of craft bread, local grains, and the interesting tools, books, and accessories useful to baking. Live music and demonstrations during the day. Wood-Fired pizzas and other delicious local foods. Website.

MOFGA's Low Impact Forestry Level II Workshop, Draft Animal LoggingJuly 26-28, Bethel, Me.This 3-day workshop builds on the skills that students developed in the Level I Draft Power Logging Workshop. Students are expected to have completed LIF's Level I course, or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience. Register at the online MOFGA Store.MOFGA's Organic Orcharding Workshop: Bud GraftingJuly 27, Thorndike. $30. Learn this method to propagate fruit trees and many ornamentals. Taught by Delton Curtis of Curtis Pond Nursery, grafter for FEDCO trees. Course will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. More information.

August 1 - YardScaping: Beautiful & Ecological Garden Inspiration. 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Back Cove, Portland. $15.00 ELA member or $20 Non-member. A diverse team of volunteers from public, private, profit and non-profit organizations created this educational project to showcase the possibilities for attractive, low-input, and low-impact gardening. Tour guide Gary Fish holds a B.S. in Forest and Wildlife Management from the University of Maine, College of Forest Resources and is the Manager of Pesticide Programs at the Maine Board of Pesticides Control. Hosted by Ecological Landscaping Association. Registrations are limited - use this link to register online. More information: ela.info@comcast.net or (617) 436-5838.

August 21 - Four Season Forward - Producing Year-Round Crops Using High Tunnels, Low Tunnels and Quickhoops, with Clara Coleman of Four Season Farm Consulting. Four-season production is a collection of innovative growing techniques that use season-extension products such as coldframes, Quickhoops, low tunnels and stationary and movable high tunnels. These techniques can be used to develop a new business on small acreage or to add an additional business to an existing farm that allows a farm to thrive all year. Four-season production is a management intensive process that relies on understanding appropriate crop selection, protected cultivation basics, careful succession planning and effective record keeping. Clara will provide in-depth information on four-season production practices, demonstrate best high tunnel uses and answer questions during this six-hour workshop. Co-sponsored by MOFGA and Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. Location and time TBD. Information.